Upon winning my trip to Celebration IV through Rebelscum.com back in May, I decided I wanted to do something extra for the organization that made my voyage possible. So I volunteered to be a ‘guest escort’ in the Official Pix autograph hall. I actually didn’t find out which celebrities I would be assisting with until I got to CIV.

I arrived at the con, got my volunteer materials, and discovered my assignments. For my afternoon shift, I would be helping the legendary Kenny Baker, The Man In The Can, R2-D2 himself. In the morning, I would be sitting with the legendary Gerald Home.

Wait, who?

Oh right, Squid Head (aka Tessek in the newer materials), the Quarren alien who can be seen briefly in Jabba’s Palace.  Turns out, Gerald was also a Mon Calamari officer, seen behind Admiral Ackbar.  I had the Squid Head action figure back in the day, but I also had R2-D2, and R2 got plenty more play time. So I was thrilled to be helping Kenny, and… not necessarily disappointed to be assisting Gerald, but not thrilled.

Well brother, by the end of the day, let’s just say I had a new favorite action figure.

I arrived at the booth early, before Gerald got there. Our station was right next to Simon Williamson, the puppeteer who portrayed keyboardist Max Rebo and a Gamorrean Guard. Simon and I chatted for a few minutes, and then a middle-aged man strode right up to my table and announced, “You must be Gerald Home!” If I had been thinking, I would have replied, “Well, if I am, they aren’t paying me enough,” but I mawkishly said “No, but I think you are!” Gerald took his seat, we arranged the photos to be signed, and got to talking. Before long, I felt as if I had know Gerald my whole life. We got on like wildfire, discussing Hollywood, relationships, dogs, you name it. The time flew by, and while I felt I could have spent the whole day at that table, it was time for me to grab a quick lunch and head over to my next assignment, Kenny Baker.

Now, I won’t say anything negative about Kenny.  His table was extremely busy, since everyone and their mother wanted the convention-exclusive figures signed, so he didn’t have any time to chat.  And on that day, he was dealing with some health issues, which I’m sure can be frustrating.  So it was an honor to be of assistance at his table, but it certainly felt more like work than at Gerald’s.

Gerald and I have kept in touch these past several months, and he graciously sent me this superb letter of support for the NameItJad campaign.

I’ll always love R2-D2, but whenever I watch Return of the Jedi, I’ll keep an eye out for my good friend Gerald Home.

How lucky can one guy get? I’ll tell you. Yesterday, a few members of the San Diego Star Wars Society (one of which was me) got to tour the one and only Rancho Obi-Wan, the home base for uber-collector Steve Sansweet. If you didn’t already know that Steve is head of fan relations for Lucasfilm, you may recognize his name from the many excellent Star Wars books that he has published, or have seen him as a background Naboo citizen in Episode I.

Steve has amassed the world’s largest collection of Star Wars memorabilia, which he houses at an unassuming ranch north of San Francisco. Only the custom gate gives a hint of what’s held inside.

Steve’s collection runs the gamut from candy to posters to prototype toys to original props to… well, you name it, chances are Steve has it and a few spares to boot. He asked us not to publish too many photos (you can find others easily online), but I’ve got to share this one with you. Here’s me, wielding an original, screen-used Darth Vader stunt lightsaber.

What struck me about Steve is not only his enthusiasm for collecting his stuff, but also his joy sharing it with fans. Only the most fragile items are held behind plexiglas, while most things are out on open shelves, including original props and artwork, rare vintage toys, costumes, and so on. It takes a certain admirable trait in a collector to pick up an actual Han Solo ROTJ prop blaster and hand it straight over to a complete stranger! I think Steve realizes that at the end of the day, the true value of all his stuff is found in sharing the thrill of discovery with new friends, and I hope to be a collector of that stripe too.

Steve is the bearded fellow to the left of the Rancho Obi-Wan sign, and I’m seated to the right of it, holding a couch pillow (more on that in a moment). Once the three hour tour was done, Steve treated us to pizza, and then put us to work! For you see, one doesn’t just visit Rancho Obi-Wan without getting a little dirty. Under the able direction of the collection’s super-organizer Anne Neumann, the SDSWS crew moved around dozens of heavy boxes and cleared out a dumpster load of garbage from the back storage shed. Among the refuse was a hideously ugly couch that was in dire need of being disposed of. Well, Steve got to talking about it and it turns out, the couch has some history. It was actually owned by Lucasfilm and used in their offices before Skywalker Ranch was built. Furthermore, it MAY have been THE couch that George Lucas sat on when he signed the contract to do Raiders of the Lost Ark.

I couldn’t take the whole couch with me, but how could I not take at least one pillow? Besides, Steve was throwing it out, which means I’ll have a vintage Star Wars collectible that Steve Sansweet DOESN’T have! That evening, I was late getting to my return flight to San Diego (by two minutes!), so I got bumped to a later flight. I was forced to eat dinner in the San Francisco International Airport, with only my new treasure to keep me company.

In all honesty, it wasn’t the worst first date I’ve ever had! I never got any questions about the pillow from airport security or the flight crew, which I guess means the Southwest staff is accustomed to its passengers flying with historical science fiction upholstery.

Again, let me extend a huge thanks to Linda (of SDSWS, wearing the blue shirt in the group shot) and Steve Sansweet for a most memorable experience.  Now does anyone out there know how to build a display case for a couch pillow….